Severe Weather

2 people pulled from burning house

A fund has been setup to help a Boone family that lost their home Sunday in a fire.

Two people were injured in the house fire at 1228 Boone St., officials said.

A Boone Fire Department spokesman said two people were trapped inside the house after it caught fire just after 3 a.m. Sunday.

Linda Cleary and her fiance, Bob, were able to escape their home as the fire rapidly spread, but their friends, Larry and Cindy Barrett, who were in town visiting and staying with them for the night, weren't as lucky.

"It was just smoke (was) instantly at us. I mean, it went up quick," Cleary said. "I kept screaming, 'Help her! Help her!'"

Fire officials said crews had to break the windows to rescue Cindy Barrett from the burning home.

"There were some screams for help. (The firefighters) went to the window. They knocked out the window, and one firefighter jumped inside," said Boone Fire Chief Justin Adams.

Cindy Barrett's mother, Bernadine Goetzman, said she found out about the fire from watching the early morning news.

"I keep thinking, 'Oh, it's going to be the house next door. It can't be the house she was in.' But it was," Goetzman said.

Goetzman said her daughter is in an Iowa City hospital, heavily sedated and being treated for smoke inhalation, while Cindy's husband is also being treated for severe burns on 20 percent of his body.

"I don’t know what to say. I mean, all I can do is give my whole prayers," Cleary said.

Firefighters said they were able to revive a dog at the scene, but a cat did not survive.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Donations to help the family can be made at Great Western Bank in Ames in the name of the Robert Melton and Linda Cleary account.

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